Over the past few years, we have seen an epidemic of mistrust grow across the landscape. It seems that every day there is another report about some major corporation or government body being accused of widespread misconduct. Whether it’s reports of systematic wage theft in your state or country, fraudulent activity for profit, or even outright corruption, people are becoming increasingly skeptical of institutions.

We also see more examples of powerful individuals who seem to use their position to advance themselves at the expense of others. From President Trump using his influence as president to win business for himself to international media mogul Rupert Murdoch leveraging his status as one of the most influential men in the world to further his personal agenda, trust has become a rare commodity.

In addition to abuses by elites, we are now experiencing what many refer to as the “post-truth era.” Technology makes it possible for anyone to spread false information with little to no fact checking done to verify its accuracy. This can be done very publicly (i.e. via social media) or privately (i.e. email), and often does not require any special knowledge on part of the disseminator.

Zero trust architectures attempt to mitigate these risks through careful thought and design. By limiting access to resources and systems, zero trust approaches reduce risk by lowering the likelihood that someone will misuse sensitive data or equipment.

Use a password manager

Recent developments have made it very easy to create a digital footprint that will haunt you later.

Password managers are an essential tool for anyone who values their privacy. A password manager creates individual passwords and links them all to one unique identifier or “username”.

By doing this, instead of having different web accounts with separate usernames and passwords, everything is linked together under one username. This makes it much more difficult to track your online activity because no two parts of your identity exist separately.

There are many good ones out there so do some research and find one that works best for you. You can also add extra features like 2-factor authentication which require a secondary piece of information (such as a code sent via text or phone) in order to login.

This gives you additional protection since if someone does manage to access your main account they won’t be able to easily move onto other sites using that information.

Use strong passwords

In this article we’ll talk about how important it is to use good password strategies in order to protect your accounts. But before that, let us discuss why using poor passwords is such a bad idea.

We all make mistakes sometimes. We forget our passwords due to stress or because of too many login requests (which can be from checking emails, social media sites, etc.). Or maybe someone you know has their account hacked, and you accidentally logged into theirs!

Whatever the reason may be, when you find yourself trying to access an online service but you get sent back to the authentication page, it's frustrating. You put effort into finding the right credentials and getting through verification processes only to have them fail.

That's what happens when people choose poorly chosen passwords. These weak passwords are easily hackable, which means they're vulnerable to hackers who could steal your personal information or even commit criminal acts.

Stronger passwords require more work to type, making it less likely that anyone will guess them unless they've already been used somewhere else. It also takes longer to write down or remember these complex passwords, so users tend to eventually come up with simple ones they repeat over and over.

It's like having a very basic car key that you never lock securely inside your vehicle. Perfectly safe, until somebody breaks in and steals your car.

Use a firewall

A firewall is an essential security tool that helps protect your computer or device from external threats, such as malware or hackers trying to access your private information.

Firewalls can be categorized into two main groups: layer-7 firewalls (also referred to as “hardware” level firewalls) and application-level firewalls. Layer-seven firewalls monitor all of the traffic that comes in and goes out of your computer or device, whereas application-level firewalls scan individual applications for potential safety risks.

Because they go beyond looking at what apps you are using and how they are being used, layer-seven firewalls are considered more effective than application-level firewalls. That said, it is very difficult to use one without also having another type!

There are many types of layer-seven firewalls available, so which one would be best for you really depends on your needs and preferences.

Seal your computer

A few simple steps can seal your computer very well. You can do this by using either Windows or Linux software, and both are effective solutions. Some good candidates for sealing include anti-theft tools, password protectors, and privacy apps.

Most of these applications have you create an account with them and then link that account to your device. Once linked, they encrypt all files on your device and make it nearly impossible to access those files unless you have the proper credentials.

This is not only helpful in preventing theft, but also protecting yourself from someone else potentially accessing your information. Privacy apps go one step further and keep track of what sites you visit, phone calls, messages, and other personal data so you don’t have to worry about people snooping around.

These apps can be cost free or paid depending on how much functionality you need.

Do not share your computer

If you must have access to both computers, make sure that you do not need them simultaneously for work or personal reasons.

This is one of the biggest things you can do to prevent malicious actors from accessing important documents and information. By limiting this accessibility, you reduce their chance of finding something they are looking for while trying to infiltrate your online accounts.

You also increase your security by only using public Wi-Fi when necessary so users cannot connect to your device via wireless network.

If you still need private internet connectivity, use a VPN service where you pay extra for secure connections. This way, even if someone does manage to get into your home network, at least some part of your connection will be protected.

Change your default password

Changing your online passwords is probably one of the most basic things you can do to improve your digital security. Unfortunately, many people don’t seem to be very good at it!

Changing your email password is definitely something we all should strive for, but what about those usernames and passwords that you use across multiple sites?

Many users start their internet journey with free or low-cost accounts which they then upgrade as their needs grow – making it easy to run into the situation where they use the same username and password for everything.

This is totally normal and even helpful in some ways! But it also makes changing these passcodes much more difficult now, as you have to go through extra steps to confirm who you are every time you access a site. It becomes quite tedious, especially if you need to make an account change frequently (like when someone else has logged in using yours!).

Luckily, there are several strategies you can implement to help you manage this process better. Here are our top tips for changing your login credentials on various websites.

Tell your friends

One of the biggest factor in creating trust is telling other people that you know who they are and what they mean to you. When someone doesn’t have much trust in you, it can be hard to get past their skepticism.

People with low levels of trust may feel like they don’t know you well enough to believe you will keep an agreement. In these cases they might not even agree to make a deal with you until they think you can be trusted to keep your word.

By coming across as trustworthy and willing to help others, you create internalized norms of honesty. Your colleagues and peers begin to expect good behavior from you, so they offer you greater access to things because they assume you won’t take them away.

Thought-leadership programs are a powerful way to build zero trust. They're designed to influence individuals by using rational arguments and examples to promote a certain position or attitude.

Tell your family

As we discussed earlier, creating trust is an ongoing process that doesn’t happen overnight. It takes work and effort from all parties involved. One of the most important things you can do as a leader in this organization is tell your family what steps need to be taken before they can feel comfortable giving their full trust to you or others within the department.

If someone in your team has needed access to sensitive information or resources for his/her job, then it’s time to let them know about the ZTA. You should also make sure that everyone knows how to contact somebody at headquarters if they have questions at a later date.

This will help mitigate any potential distrust or fear people may have of the company and its leaders moving forward. If possible, get into the habit of telling employees outside of the ZTAs why you are implementing these new protocols, so they have some understanding of the situation.